Yamazaki 12 Year
Yamazaki is Japan’s first and oldest distillery and has been producing whisky for nearly a century. Situated just outside Kyoto and owned by Suntory, the Yamazaki 12 was inspired by scotch but only goes so far with that inspiration before setting out on its own distinctive path. The whisky is very much a product of its locality, infused with unique character. They don’t mess around, in other words. This particular offering has been the recipient of many international whisky tasting awards. It was highly praised at our tasting.
McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt
From one of the very few artisanal distilleries in the United States, McCarthy’s has only been in production since 2000. It hasn’t wasted any time, though, winning awards and other high marks in short order. McCarthy’s is also unique in that the whisky is made from peated malt imported from Islay, given that Oregon shares certain climate qualities with Scotland. The aging renders their young whisky surprisingly smooth.
Kilchoman “Machir Bay”
Kilchoman (pronounced Kilhoman) is one of the newest and smallest distilleries in Scotland, opening its doors in 2005. It currently produces a 3 and 5 year single malt, though they plan to release 8 year (2014), 10 year (2016) and 12 year (2018) bottlings. By what we taste from the junior varsity so far, age should make a good thing even better for Kilchoman’s future issues. The offerings are bottled yearly, quantified by flavor profile and maturation. Future releases of the Machir Bay (and others) will be re-released in more mature versions.